Tractors Owned: 1947 in well used condition 1948 restored 1948 1949 for sale Nice original 1950 just out of the Demo Range628 2 wheel Trailer 1950 Demo

Circle of Safety: Y

Location: IN West Lafayette

Postby Steve Butram » Mon Jan 17, 2005 7:52 am

John It is 2 degrees here this morning with the wind chiil it is a -13. We are just waiting for the first automatic sprinkler system to freeze up and it will be off to the races. We generaly have a few frozen sprinkler systems. This cold weather is hard on the fire trucks and pumps too. We go into cold weather ops. when we have the below freezing temps . Have you ever had to pick up 100' of charged and frozen 5"hose. We have in the past had to call for a front end loader and a city dump truck to haul the hose back to the station to thaw out. cold weather is not fun in my business. Steve

I'll bet your life can be fun. I remember when I was working on the maintanence crew at the community hospital when it got cold enough the cold followed the discharge pipe from our sprinkler system test valve and split the pipe. Was interesting for a while.

I remember many years ago, when I was on our local VFD. We had a barn fire on a night that was 20 below zero. Somehow we got our front-mount pump to the scene without freezing up. Back then there were no regs about facial hair and I had my full beard. Well the first thing that happened to me was getting hit broadside with a full stream of water which froze instantly. I was at that scene all night - from about 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. and never did get warm. Even when I was close to the hay that burned all night in the hay mow.

BigdogIf you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.

Right now we are in the middle of a blizzard. Very seldom does everything shut down, but even the government offices and the malls are all closed.

It is supposed to go to -30/35C tonight with winds about 75kph (50mph) and an estimated wind chill of -50C or so. Good thing I gots me chest buddy and am staying in the house today

As for being cold - CFS Alert - winter - mean average temp -65C or -55F. Mandatory Emergency Ops at -75C. Mandatory Evac at -100C. I have been there when it was -72 with winds in the 65-80kph range. It gets so cold that you can literally take a hammer hit one of the old dozers in the dump and both pieces will shatter. I have never tried it though so cannot attest to the veracity of this statement.

But I have had frostbite and a sunburn all at the same time --- getting a sun tan laying on a beached ice berg --

My Dad said he asked his Uncle who had worked on the Alaskan Highway if it ever got too cold to work while building it. He that replied the cabin they stayed in had a knot hole in one board with a plug in it. Every morning they removed the plug and stuck a crowbar out the knothole. If the end of the crowbar froze off it was too cold to work.

Tractors Owned: 1947 in well used condition 1948 restored 1948 1949 for sale Nice original 1950 just out of the Demo Range628 2 wheel Trailer 1950 Demo

Circle of Safety: Y

Location: IN West Lafayette

Postby Steve Butram » Mon Jan 17, 2005 1:56 pm

John .I just got a call from my Assistant chief . He told me if we go out on a Medical run to circulate water in the pump. DAAAA .there was a crew out on a med run earlier this morning that froze up their pump. I guess we have A driver that is taking money under false pretences. I forgot to mention that we find most of the frozen sprinkler systems when it thaws out it seam like the ice forms a plug in the pipe untill it gets above freezing. I guess I shouldn't complain compaired to Rudi It is summer or more like spring here. Steve